The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1887-09-17


use universally. Sole leather became
so scarce aud high that the people
resorted 10 wood "a a substitute for
the soles Of shoes These "wooden
bottoms" as they were called, con
sisted Of a sole and heel all in
solid piece. II was cut out Of maple
or gum wood Is rul :. sJme lines with
knif,. ag,in by rude machinery.
Later such wood b ,it)ms were sold by
"a number Of expert makers. who kept
on hand various sZe II mems we an.
Farm hands wore them largely. From
the middle the sol; turned up toward
tie toe 40 thai tn foot in walking
would have a rolling motion forward.
which was necessary rs the rigid sole
could not bend. IntD groove cut
around the upper cd 20 of the wooden
bottom tie upper leather was secured
by means Of wooden pegs or iron tacks,
when the latter could be had. IL was
found that ti5 wood bottom made
dry wa"m sEO', and after little
practice one was worn without special
Inconvenience, The heel and sole
were always protected by narrow
strips If iron around the edges 10 pre-
vent rapid wear The shoes made a
great deal Il noise when used in the
house OF on hard ground. and on nights
when there was Stiffness in the air
and the ground wa, frozen hard, the
footsteps Of brisk walkers thus sho1
were easily heard at distance of half
amilc. O.d mon had difficulty in gc.-
ting accustomed 10 This rude and new
fOOtgcar. and one venerable man de-
clared that he wished the "pl agued
things hal never been agitated." In
snow walking with these shoes was
difficult. As the snow "ball d. as it
does in horses hoof.
Kerosene oil had not been in use
great while when the war began, but
hafyt~practically displaced the can
die. The lack Of oil rendered the
lamps useless, and the tallOw candle
became supreme. In the matter of
light, rs in other things. there were
inventions. One Of these was n taper,
which was made by drawing n thick
wick Of loosely twisted cotton through
pan Of melted bccswax and rosin.
This operation wa, repeated until the
wick. which was generally twenty to
fifty yards in length. was the size of
pencil and looked like rope Of yellow
wax While il was yet warm. this wick
was wound on a bottle or corn
oh Ia, 70 Ii
end turned up, was lighted, and the
taper was placed upon the table at
supper time, or for reading light.
Such taper burned slowly, but yet
had TO be watched aud turned up.
From time TO time the burning end
was unwound and pulled up. Some
times there was carclcssncss and the
entire taper caught on fire from the
wick. Another device for light was u
saucer or platter Of melted lard. in
which noated ball from the sycamore
or cotton wood tree These balls.
which were dry and absorbent and
quite inilammablc, burned readily, act
ing as wick and Keeping the lard
melted. One ball gave fully ~ much
light as an ordinary Kerosene lamp.
The tallow dip. the wax taper and the
candle each had their advocates.
Other people. who desired amorc pow
erful illumination. returned TO an even
more primitive custom aud use pine
knots. which In the fire place made
glare which made room all ablaze
with light.
People. in the country, particulars
ly. were put to great straits for writ
ing paper and envelopes All old let
tcrs were rcsurrcctcd. and all extra
sheets of paper removed thercfrom.
Old letters written on one side of tho
paper were again brought out, and
the other side used Old books were
cut tup, and the paper taken for this
purpose. Envelopes were cut ont Of
any kind of paper by the use of
sharp knife and wooden pattern.
Cherry tree or peach tree gum furn-
ishcd the mucilage boinS dissolved In
vinegar These envelopes were often
made by children. and sold at from
three dollars tc six dollars per pack
in Confederate or State currency.
Many letters were mailed in the o'd
style of a century since. without on.
vclopes. Goose pulls furnished pens.
rs of yorc. and buzzard and turkey
quilts were also used. Polkbcrrics.
cldcrbcrrics and the gals of the rcd
oak tree furnished ink. copcras being
used in the solution. Sharpcncd bar-
of lead were used rs pencils. while for
slate pencils old states were cut up in.
To narrow strips and rounded with
knife. Occasionally partially cin-
dcrcd bone of chicken was used a.
slate pencil but proved rather too
soft. A. for school books. any kind
were used, many of them being half n
century old. Occasionally in the
county Schools no two books could be
found alike.
Coffee was treasured, but after n
time the supply gave out and store
coffee became with not few n mere
memory. Only through the blockade
runners could coffee he obtained, and
of course the great mass # people had
to go without IT, The sytho remark
applies 10 tea A. substitute. >for
coffee, rye, wheat or okra was rSSstcS.
ground and boiled in n coflce-pot or
kettle, or sweet potatoes raw were
sliced and roasted. then chopped fine
and ground. Bran and bread crusts